Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie has criticised Eddie Nketiah for his performances since leaving Arsenal last summer.

The Gunners offloaded the striker to Crystal Palace for an initial £25m, with another £5m due in add-ons and, speaking to 10bet, Hendrie said that Nketiah has been a huge disappointment:

“Eddie Nketiah at Crystal Palace has to be the biggest flop of the season. He cost the football club £30m, which I know isn’t huge sums for a Premier League striker these days, but when you bring in a player like that, and Palace don’t often spend those kinds of sums, you have to expect more than what he’s produced. He only scored his first goal the other day [sic], you need more from your striker and he’s not offering that to Palace.”

“I watched him at Arsenal, and although he didn’t play every week, most of his goals came from deliveries into the box, but Palace don’t have the same quality in the wide areas as Arsenal and they don’t really play with wingers. I’m not saying he’s a bad player; I just think the move hasn’t worked for him at all. He has got ability, he can score goals, so maybe that system doesn’t suit him, but I think it’s fair to have expected more. Palace let Jordan Ayew and Odsonne Édouard leave this summer, he was supposed to help fill that void. They need him to take a bit of the pressure of Jean-Philippe Mateta, but he hasn’t been able to do that.”

Arsenal made the right call to sell Nketiah

Although many supporters feel that the Gunners left themselves light up front after failing to replace the forward, the decision to allow him to leave looks correct in hindsight, especially when you consider the fee that the club received.

Nketiah has only scored twice for Palace, one of which came against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup, and you have to say that, based on his return this season, he wouldn’t have been much use to manager Mikel Arteta if he had stayed at the Emirates.

More firepower is needed for a title challenge

Although Arsenal are unlikely to sign an out-and-out No.9 when the transfer window opens next month, Bukayo Saka’s injury does mean there is a case to be made for someone to be brought in to strengthen the forward line.

Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush (who has scored 18 goals and provided 12 assists this campaign) has been touted as a possible target, while the likes of AC Milan’s Samuel Chukwueze and Paris Saint-Germain’s Randal Kolo Muani have also been mentioned as potential options.

Find out who is in Arsenal’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here